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Lawmakers Rush To Ban Powdered Alcohol

Indiana lawmakers are hurrying to ban powdered alcohol before it reaches store shelves in the state.

When mixed with any liquid, a one-ounce package of the powdered alcohol creates an instant cocktail with the same alcoholic content as a shot of liquor.

Last week, Palcohol became the first powdered alcohol product the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved for sale.

Indiana lawmakers were already in the process of banning the substance when that decision was released, but they are now pushing for it to take effect sooner than originally planned.

Senator Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, authored Senate Bill 6, which outright bans all powdered or crystallized alcohol, excluding bona fide research projects.

If passed, the bill would become law on July 1, 2015, but Alting says he will amend the legislation so it takes effect right away.

Alting says the bill would disproportionately affect minors who are targeted by its marketing of accessibility.

"This is a product that can be used in the classroom, unannounced, or the workplace," Alting said. "It is just bad public policy to have such a product out there that is so easily accessible that it can be used in any setting without sticking out there like a sore thumb."

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau spokesman Tom Hogue says the product's labels were approved in error last year, and it was later recalled.

This time, Hogue says the FDA approved the product so the bureau had to administer regulations for it.

"We can only do what we have the authority to do," Hogue said. "I understand there have been concerns about abuse. The fact of the matter is anything can be abused. Potential for abuse is not grounds for us to deny an application."

Hogue said federal law does not prohibit distilled spirits from being encapsulated.

However, under the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, states are given broad authority to regulate the sale of alcohol within their borders. That includes banning certain substances and products.

State legislatures in Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Rhode Island are also considering legislation to ban powdered alcohol.

"Everybody has this on fast track," Alting said.

According to Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis, and co-author of the bill, Indiana businesses with alcohol licenses could begin selling packages of the substance immediately. That is what lawmakers are hoping to avoid.

But David Cook, chairman of the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, says he hasn't been made aware of anyone seeking a permit to sell powdered alcohol in the state.

"The manufacturers are saying that it will be available early spring," Sen. Alting said. "So, I'm guessing in the next 60 days is when you could possibly see that on the shelf. However, our goal is to have it on the governor's desk in the next three weeks."

SB 6 passed the Senate unanimously during the first half of the session.

The bill is scheduled for a vote Wednesday in the House Public Policy Committee.

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